Shoe tree or form.



P. A. BOWEN.

l SHOE TREE 0R EGEM. 'APPLIoATIN FILED 1111.121, 1910.

' 42 sums-SHEET 1.

- n' wv 5 Muur 27 Mes-see.- j 46 Tavevcn f @Eczeem P. A, BOWEN; SHOE-TREE 0R FORM.

APPLICATION FILED JULY'Zl, 1910.

986,680. Patena M3114, 1-911.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

UNITED ASTATES PATENT OFFICE.

PHILIP A. BOWEN, or LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR To IILLIAN A. LITTLE, 0E LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS.

SHOE TREE 0R FORM.

This invention has for its object the production of a novel and efiicient shoe-tree or form primarily designed for use 1n keeping a shoe 1n shape when not 1n use.

In the present embodiment ,of my invention i the fore part and heel part of the tree are i pivotally connected by longitudinally eX- tensible means whereby the heel part may be swung or tipped up relatively to the fore part, to provide for ready insertion in the shoe and removal therefrom, and I have provided a controlling device which coperates with such connecting means to shorten the same when the heel part is tipped and tov lengthen such means when the tree is positioned in the shoe. This extensibility of the connecting means is of great assistance in manipulating the tree, as the same can be inserted in and removed from the shoe with ease, and when the tree is positioned in the shoe the separation of the fore and heel parts moves them into place to keep the shoe in proper shape. To accommodate a given shoe-tree to shoes of diierent lengths, within reasonable limits, I have provided selfacting means to accommodate the effective length of the tree to the length of the shoe, and I have also made a similar provision y for governing the effectiI-f'e width o-f the fore part of the tree; Thus without any adjustment a tree of a given size automatically accommodates itself to a number of different sized shoes.

The various novel features of my invention will be fully described in the subjoined specification vand particularly pointed out in the following claims.

Figure 1 is a partial longitudinal section of a shoe-tree or form embodying my invention, on the line 1-`-l, Fig. 2, but with the connecting means shown partly in section and partly in elevation, the tree being eX- tended and operatively positioned in a shoe;

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed July 21, 1910.

Patented Main'lt, 1911.

Serial No. 572,961.

Fig. 2 is a bottom view of the shoe-tree shown in Fig. l; Fig. 3 is a detail of the foreand heel parts, looking toward the toe of the tree, when the heel part is tipped up with relation to the fore part; Fig. et is a view similar to Fig. l, butl showing in full lines the f ore and heel parts brought together by the shortening of the connecting means between such parts, and the heel part is shown by dotted lines in tipped position for the insertion or removal of the tree; Fig. 5l is a longitudinal section and part elevation of a modified form of the tree, wherein the fore part is non-expansible; Fig. 6 is an enlarged transverse sectional detail, on the line 6-6, Fig. 4l, looking toward the right, to illustrate more clearly a part of the connecting means, to be referred to; Fig. 7 is a perspective view, broken out, of the part of the connecting means which is iXedly secured in the heel part of the tree; Fig. S is a similar view of the member of the connecting means which is pivotally attached to the divided fore part shown in Fig. et; Figs. 9 and 10 are perspective details of the metallic seats which are secured in the fore parts o-f the tree, as illustrated in Figs. t and 5 respectively.

Inasmuch as the connecting means between the fore and heel parts is substantially the same in both the structures illustrated I will describe the same in detail with relation particularly to Figs. l, 3, 4 and 6, and make such particular reference to Fig. 5 as may be necessary for a clear understanding thereof. Herein the heel vpart is indicated at H, and the fore part at F, the heel part being of the usual character employed in a shoe-tree or form of this general description, and herein said heel part H is provided with a longitudinal recess 1 extended from its front end rearward and open at its top, the recess being shown as rectangular in cross section. The bottom of the recess has a longitudinal groove or depression 2, for a purpose to be described, and the wood of the heel part is socketed at 3 at the rear end of the recess. In this socket I seat a tubular member 4, preferably made of sheet metal and of rectangular cross-section, having its longitudinal upper edges inturned to form overhanging, opposed flanges 5, Aa tongue 6' downturned from the front end of said memberv being fixedly attached by.'` a r ing Fig. 8 with Fig. r(wit will be seen that suitable fastening 7` to the front end of the heel part, the rear end of the bottom of said member 4-being extended at 8 to enter the socket 3. Thus said member is securely held in place in the heel part, and as shownin Figs. 1, 4 and 6 the bottom of thefmember is longitudinally slotted at 9 above the groove 2. In Vsuch fixedly held member I mount a longitudinally'slidable or telescoping member 10 of corresponding cross-section and snugly iitting therein, themeniber 10 being made asa rectangular, metallic Y tube, and provided with alongitudinal slot Yl 11m its top at' itsrear, open end. At its front end the member is pivotally attached'by atransverse pin 12 to the fore part of the tree.

Having reference' now particularly to Fig. 5 the fore part F is solid, or non-expansible, and at its rear end it has a longit'ud-inalrecess 13 to receive an open metallicseat 14,

Fig. 10, its bottom being downturned at 15 against` the end of thefore part and secured lthereto by a suitable fastening 16. The opposite end of the seat bottom is prolonged at 17 to enter aslot 18, so that the seat is maintained securely in place, the pin 12 being mounted in thev upturned walls/of the seat.' i Y v It will now be apparent that the member Y 10 is pivotally attached to the fore part of the tree and is in longitudinally slidable engagement with the heel part through its telescopic'coperation with the 'member 4, so thata connection is eie'cted between the fore and heel parts, enabling 'they latter -to be tipped or swung with relation to the former, and by the extensibility of such connection the fore and heel parts can be moved toward An abutment 19 is formed in the member 10 by slitting its bottom and turning up the tongue so formed, said abutment being just behindthe pivot 12 and sustaining one end vof a coiled spring 20, shown only in Figs.

1,V 3 and 4. The other'endof the spring abuts against a plunger 21 slidable inV the connecting member l0 and longitudinally slottedat 22, Fig. 1, and Y(ilottedlines Fig. 4, to'receiveV one end of a link 23,.pivotally connected with the plunger at 24, and hav# ing a downt-urned lug or hook 25, which passes through a slot 26 inthe bottom of the member 10, and through the slot 9 in member 4, into the groove Referring to' Fig. 8 the only difference in the member 10 when used with a divided' vfore partoverVV its construction when used with a solid fore part, as in Fig. 5, is that in Vthe l,first case the member 10 Vis extended at 27, Fig. 8, beyond the pivot point and pro: vided with short slots 28 in its top and bottom, the sides having opposite openings 29 Vfor a purposeto be described. By compar- `the rear end thereof, said arm being prolonged at 33 beyond the pivot 30 and apertured to form a finger piece or handle. AS shown in Figs. 1, 4 and 5, the link 23 and connected arm 31 form a species of toggle, which when set or straightened as in Fig. 1 holds the member 10 in extended position and ixedly positions the plunger 21, for the joint 30 is at such time just below a line connecting the pins 24 and 32.

The member 10 cannot be pulled out of the fixed member 4 because the hook 25 projects through the slot 26 at all times, and the engagement of such hook with either end y of the slot. limits relative longitudinal movement of the members 10 and 4.

lVhen the controlling device or arm is swung down by its handle 33 into operative position, Fig. 1, the fore and heel parts are moved away from each/ot er, the members 10 and 4 sliding or telescoping one with re-` lation to the other, but the heel and fore parts can be yieldingly pressed toward each other, the spring 20 being compressed between the abutment 19 and the ixedly positioned plunger. This' permits a considerable variation in the effective length of' thel tree, so that 'a tree of a given size can t shoes of anumber of different sizes.

To place the tree in ashoe the controlling device is first swung up into the position shown in Figs.'4 and 5, the hooked end of the link 23 thereby drawing inward the plunger andthe member 10, the latter slid! ing into thev fixed member4 and drawing the heel andfore parts together. Now the heel part is swung or tipped up on the pivot 12, as indicated by dotted lines Fig. 4, and the treeis inserted in the shoe. After the fore part properly enters the toe portion of the shoe the heel part is swung down into operative position into the heel of' the' shoe, Fig. 1, and the controlling device 31 is swung down to operative position, as shown in Fig.

l, extending the connecting means between the heel and fore parts of the .tree and pressing them firmly into the corresponding portions of thev shoe. As soon as the parts of the tree seat properly in the shoe thecontinued downward swing of the handle 33 to set the toggle r23, 3l acts: through the plunger 21 to compress spring-20 more or less, according to the length of the shoe, the

Y expanding action of the spring thus serving to vretainthe tree securely in place. The springthus constitutes a self-acting means ,to accommodate the effective length of the tree to the lengthiofmthe shoe in which it is placed. When the tree is to be removed the operation described is performed in reverse order, first to unlock the toggle and shorten or contract the connecting means between the fore and heel parts, and then the latter is swung up to permit ready withdrawal of the tree.

lVhet-her the fore part be laterally expansible, as in Figs. 1, 2 and 4, as will be explained, or whether it be solid, as in Fig. 5, the foregoing description and explanation of construction and operation apply.4 When, however, the fore part is divided I utilize the swinging movement of the connecting means to contract the fore part whenthe i tree is inserted in or is to be removed from the shoe, and to spread or expand laterally said fore part when the tree is straightened out in the shoe.

While the fore part is indicated as a whole at F the two portions thereof in Figs. 2 and 3 will be distinguished one from the other by reference letters f, fx, the former portion being the larger of the two, a vertical, longitudinal cut from the toe rearward separating such port-ions. Transverse and parallel guide pins 34 iixedly` held in the portion fx slide in sockets 35 in the portion f, and communicating recesses 36, 36X are made in the bottoms of the portionsj, fx, Fig. 2, to receive short and like links 37, pivotally connected at 38, one link having its outer end fulcrumed at 39 in the recess 36 while the other link is similarly fulcrumed at 40 in the recess 36X. The pivotal connection 38 between the links is connected also with the lower, front end of an inclined tubular member 41 which is longitudinally slidable in a recess 42 provided therefor in the inner wall of the portion f, the top of the recess having a longitudinal, grooved portion 43. Said member 41 contains a coiled spring 44 and a slidable plunger 45, the spring interposed between the plunger and the lower end of the tubular member, a link 46 being jointed to said plunger by a pin 47 and having an upt-urned hooked end 48 to enter the groove 43 after it passes through a slot 49 in the member 41. The upper end of the link 46 is extended into the slots 28 in the extension 27 of the connecting member 10, Fig. 8, and pivotally connected therewith by a cross-pin 50 held in the openings 29 in said extension. Now when the controlling arm 3l and its handle 33 are in operative position, Fig. 1, the member 10 is held in outwardly extended position, and the spring 44 acting against the then fixed plunger 45 presses the tubular member 41 downward and forward, to maintain the links 37, 37 in alinement and thereby laterally expand the divided fore part of the tree, see Fig. 2. lVhen the heel part H is swung up into dotted line position Fig. 4, about the pin 12 as a fulcrum, the link 46 is drawn downward and rearward, as indicated, its hooked end 48 pulling with it the member 41 to thereby swing the cross links 37 rearward and pull together the two portions f, fx, as in Fig. 3. The contracted fore part is then inserted in the shoe, and when the heel part is swung down to t-he position shown in Figs. 1 and 4 the link 46 pushes forward the plunger 45, compressing the spring 44, the expansive action of the latter in turn acting to move the tubular member 41 downward and forward to aline the links 37 and thus spread or expand laterally the fore part. If the shoe be a narrow one the fore part will be expanded to snugly iit it and then the spring will be further compressed as the heel part is fully positioned; Hence with a divided fore part the construction is such that such fore part accommodates itself automatically (so far as concerns its effective widtl1,) to the width of the shoe, said fore part being contracted by the upward swing of the heel part preparatory to withdrawing the tree from the shoe.

Owing to the two-piece construction of the divided fore part I have to modify the metallic seat in which the connecting member l0 is pivoted, as will be seen by a comparison of Figs. 9 and 10. In Fig. 9 the seat has upturned, oppositely apertured sides 51, 52 between which the frontend of the member 10 is Jivoted by the pin 12, andvin this form said pin can also be made as a screw to enter the wood of the portion f, and assist the screw 53, Fig. 3, in securing the seat in place, the latter passing through a depending ear 54 on the seat. The bottom 55 of the seat is cut away between the sides to permit the swinging movement of the connecting member 10, as will beapparent.

Various changes or modifications in details of construction and arrangement may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention as set forth in the claims annexed hereto.

'Having fully described my invent-ion, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is :w

l. A. shoe-tree or form comprising a fore part and a heel part, a connection therebetween comprising a tubular longitudinal member ixedly secured at its ends to one of said parts, and a coperating, telescopic member pivotally connected with the other of said parts and slidable within said tubular member, an expansion spring and a plunger within the pivoted member of the connection, a controlling arm fulcrumed on the lixedly secured member of the connection, and a link pivotally connecting said arm with the plunger and separately connect-ing the arm and the pivoted member of the connection, swinging movement of the arm acting' through the link to move telescopically the members of the connection and thereby drawvrtoward each other or separate the fore and' heel parts, the spring permitting the fore and Yheel parts to adapt themselves to Y the length of the shoe when'the arm is swung Y part,'and a heel part, an open seat fiXedly attached to one of said parts, and a tubular,

longitudinal memberxedly attached to the other part, a connecting member pivotally attached to the seat and longitudinally slidf able in'said tubular memberysaid connecting and tubular members being longitudinally slotted, a controlling arm fulcrumed on the tubular member to yswing in said'slots, a Y link operatively connecting said arm and the connecting member to slide it in'orV out of the tubular member and thereby draw toward each other or to separate the fore and heel parts, and a yieldingly-controlled plunger slidable in the Vconnecting member and pivotally connected with the link to permit the fore and heel partsto adapt themselves to the length of the shoe when said arm is positioned to maintain said parts separated, said link having a slidable engagement with the connecting member.

3.V A shoe-tree-'or form comprising a longitudinally divided fore partl and a heel part', a connection pivotally attached to one and in longitudinal sliding engagement with thek other of said parts, means cooperating vwith said connection to move said "parts v; positivelyV toward and from each other, de'- Vices controlled by said connection'to eX- pand or contract said fore part according to the position. of the connection,` and self acting means yieldingly separating said fore ,and-heel parts'while permitting movement thereof toward each other irrespective of said positively acting means.

4f. A'shoe-tree or formcomprisinga heel part and a longitudinally-divided fore part, a connection pivotallv attached to the latter and in longitudinal slidable engagement l with the heel-part, means to laterally contract said fore part when said connection is swung upward on its pivot and to expand the fore part when the connection 1s 1nk operative position,V Yand a device to cooperate vpart and a longitudinally-divided fore part,

a connection pivotally attached to one and having a longitudinal sliding engagement with the other of said parts, a device cooperating with said connection to move the heel and fore parts toward and from each other, means governed by swinging movement of the connection out of and into operatve position to contract and expand, respectively, the divided tore part, and selfactin yielding means to accommodate the Veffective width of the fore part to the width of the shoe when positioned therein.`

y In testimony'whereof, I have signed my name to this specification,v in the presence of two subscribing, witnesses.

. PHILIP A. BOWEN. Witnesses :c

JOHN W. POTTINGER, ARTHUR C. WEBER.

. Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

' Washington, D. C. 

